Among the Cold Evening
by A Cuppin' Cake
Summary: Just Another Cold Night revised by a resurrected Daisaku; after being tossed carelessly aside by Cloud, Tifa Lockheart sets out on a journey to find her own peace. Sooner then later, Rufus Shinra shows up--can he fufill the hole in her heart? Willingly?
1. Slipping Through Fingers

A/N: This is the revised and happily rewritten Just Another Cold Night v. 2.0. Some of the useless parts are cut out and stuff. ^_^ Also, the plot has more direction; I know my old reviewers are probably gone (in case you had yet to notice, this is Daisaku), and I hope to gain new ones. So, in the wise words of yours truly...enjoy the show!  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to Daisaku, AKA CC (Cuppin' Cake). The format of the beginning was inspired by Catalina, the author of "Sink to the Bottom with You"--a very great story, and I encourage you to read it. ^_^  
  
---  
  
Chapter 1: Slipping Through Fingers  
"Sorry 'bout the door, Mrs. Highwind--Elena'll pay for the repair costs." Reno  
  
"If you are near to the dark,  
I will tell you 'bout the sun  
You are here; no escape  
From my visions of the world  
You will cry, all alone  
But it does not mean a thing to me..."  
"Aura" Emily Bindiger  
  
---  
  
A lock of chocolate brown hair spilled over a piece of grass, followed by a wall of it as Tifa Lockheart plopped down on the feather moss bed on the canyon overlooking Junon. Absently, she twirled a strand around her slender fingers, braiding it artfully without so much as a second glance. The ocean's perfume calmed her weary nerves, and her legs swung absentmindedly over the bustling city perhaps two or three miles beneath them without worry or anxiety. Her eyes surveyed the scenery with a heavy-lidded gaze, as if exhausted.  
  
Languidly, the martial artist inhaled the salty air; unable to get comfortable with the pasture nipping lightly at her bare midriff. The sun began to lightly kiss the horizon, and for a fleeting moment of weakness, she wondered in disdain if her friends were searching for her, faintly recalling a cargo ship detaching itself from Junon Harbor and moving westward in the direction the sun was ready to set.  
  
//That's selfish,// she scolded herself mentally, shaking her head vigorously to allow such thoughts to seep out through her ears. //They'll understand; they'll know why immediately. And I just...// Tifa inhaled sharply, a ragged breath expelled into the air, the kind of shudder that would come from a weeping soul. Her hands flew to her mouth suddenly, as if she had just emitted some disgusting swear word; her fist pounded into the ground, and subsequentially the dirt crumbled helplessly beneath her strength.  
  
"I need to be alone!" she screamed, projecting her anguished cover-up throughout the city.   
  
Surely enough, a few heads craned upwards at a tiny pair of legs dangling off the cliff face, but Tifa payed them no mind.  
  
A sinister voice in the back of her head squeaked, or perhaps her own thoughts resounded, ferociously berating herself. A ghostly hue took over the delicate woman's skin. //I'm amazed you got this far without turning tail and running back to him....and what would've you done then?... I would've...tried to convince him and myself that his words spoke lies,// the voice answered itself.  
  
---  
  
"Cloud?..."  
  
A whisper carried itself on the placid air; Tifa gently leapt onto one of the crystalline columns leading up to the...well, *that* place. Coincidentially, the same standing place that once brought so much suffering was the only one that bore any light of the outside--a strong, unwavering plume that bolted through and reflected off the diamond-like City of the Ancients. The only source...   
  
Upon the pillar that could barely support her weight, she crouched, gathering her wits and settling for watching Cloud from afar; instinctively, she wrapped her arms around her knees. It was a habit.  
  
Tears, like diamonds, fell from his scarred albeit handsome face, sliding haplessly onto the final "step"--Barret had once called it the Stairway to Heaven, before the marks of blood stained its surface. Gloved fingers lightly brushed against the rusted, obscure red on the column, and then began to rub furiously at the marks. His knees clicked slightly; for a moment, Tifa thought he was just going to leap in the water's flattened surface simply to stare at Aerith's body.  
  
On that day, not so long ago, three things died: Cloud's love, Tifa's hope, and Aerith herself.  
  
Tifa hesitantly approached the hypnotized swordsman and sank into a deep crouch next to him. He didn't spare her so much as a second glance, much less a first. "Cloud?" she asked tentatively, raising one hand to wave it in front of his face. Alas, she thought better of it--wait, was he even acknowledging her presence!? She shook away those thoughts. "D-do you...need anything?" //Like food, or sleep,// she thought with a pang of sadness. "Cloud...if you *do* need anything...I'll be here, alright? Maybe I'll get some food from the cabin..."  
  
A pang of jealousy for a dead girl, quickly dismissed with thoughts of gentleness. That was who Tifa was. When Sephiroth was defeated, Cloud thought he saw Aerith. And he climbed down. And Tifa followed, like a faithful companion...like a pet.  
  
She would follow him to the ends of the damn Planet.  
  
That was who Tifa was.  
  
"I...I'm not in the mood, Tifa...never have been." The bitterness and loathing in tone startled her slightly, and she backed away, although she wasn't sure who it was directed towards. She nodded, giving in to his need to be left alone for the millionth-some day. Yet continuing to beat on something dead, he continued: "No matter how many times you spoon-feed me...telling stories just to pass time... It. Doesn't matter. To me."   
  
Angered thoughts ran through his mind like wildfire--memories of the Masamune sliding through her chest like scissors through paper; his face; her...smile...  
  
Tifa smiled weakly, only to have the expression returned with a savage glare. "N-no, I could never--I'm not trying to--"  
  
Maybe it was the sun in her eyes, forcing its way through stiffly cold crystals dangling from the ceilings, but within half a second, her vision glazed over thickly. The area seemed to be swimming and blurring, and Tifa stumbled backwards blindly. And yet, not even moving his icy aquamarine gaze towards her: "You know I don't want you here, don't you," Cloud said slowly, a careful, dangerous low tone to his voice. "Why...do you stay...with me!?"  
  
Tifa turned and leapt on the second pillar, and then spun around once again, a wall of brown hair shielding her face from eyes that nearly shot lasers at her. She bit her lip and took a crippled breath, not trusting her voice."B-because I..."  
  
//...really do love you, Cloud...//  
  
"Tifa...I just want to be ALONE...with...with Aerith. G-go home."  
  
//...You're the only one who can make me feel like this.//  
  
She fled; whether she had run backwards or something, she didn't know, until at least her back slammed against some stone wall in the City's endless corridors. Though she had valiantly attempted to swallow the lump in her throat backwards, it escaped in a loud, resonating sob. And soon, many more bubbled up behind that, throat thickly coated with the viscousity of despair.   
  
The next day, she had vanished without a trace.  
  
---  
  
//Well, he got what he wanted.// The harsh phrase repeated itself in Tifa's mind until it sounded more of a lament of sorrow. //How lonely can you get...starving and sleepless...with only the lingering shadow of a ghost to keep you company... God, maybe I should go back.// A small whimpering manifested in her throat, and she rubbed her eyes tediously with her hands, upon which were equipped the Premium Heart. //He used to tell me he had nightmares in that place...used to describe them to me......and then he stopped all of a sudden.// She wiped furiously at her eyes.  
  
The sun sank listlessly into the thin line between sea and sky, and then the ocean swallowed it whole. And as if in sync with the heavens, the ocean seemed to belch out the stars as ebony ravelled itself around this part of the world. With the grace of a gymnast, Tifa leapt to her feet and onto the back of her chocobo Celes. The golden bird sank its knees and proceeded to make a massive, impressive spring off the cliff face and onto the surf and shore, where the waves nipped cooly at its hooked talons.  
  
Westward, across the ocean, to...  
  
To where?  
  
---  
  
Rocket Town: the fine barrier between the Northern Continent and basically anywhere else besides Wutai or Mideel. In Shera's house, a disgruntled Cloud Strife sat quietly, gazing into Shera Highwind's offered teacup pointedly. Her husband had left with the Highwind nearly an hour ago, begrudgingly given the task to retrieve most (actually, all) of the members of AVALANCHE. And so, his wife was left with a stern and intimidating man, yet seemed to pay him no mind; her honey-shaded eyes skimmed a magazine beneath rectangular glasses.  
  
Just as his patience began to wear thin, the sounds of whooshing and pushed air resonated throughout the town, and children shoved their heads out their bedroom windows almost instinctively. A fanfare on Rocket Town's eager ears: the Highwind had returned, and the town Captain as well.   
  
The door swung open, and Cid rushed in suddenly, wrapping his arms around his wife as if he hadn't seen her in ages. He took a quick whiff of her hair before backing away and allowing Yuffie, Reeve, Barret, and Red XIII to file in. Cloud's eye twitched, yet his grim mood did not allow anything else to be expressed.  
  
"Where is Vincent?" he asked coldly, as if demanding he pop into the door at the sound of his voice. Yet no one came, and Red XIII, the last to come in, nudged the door closed with his charcoal-shaded nose.   
  
"#$%&er had 'business' to attend to." Cid grunted, folding his arms, the lapels of his jacket lowering with his movements. "And now, Mr. Leader, fill these people in on the distress mission, will ya!?" He flailed one forearm in a bit of a threat, but faltered when he realized his antics brought not even a shadow of a smile to Cloud's face. //Shit,// the pilot thought suddenly, eyes dulling. He hadn't been informed of anything either--merely to gather AVALANCHE and meet at Rocket Town. In eager anticipation, the room seemed to fidget, wondering exactly *what the hell* would possess their leader and force a group meeting upon them.  
  
"Tifa is missing." Cloud said shortly, and with the tone he said it in he could've been talking about the hot dog toppings in Costa Del Sol.  
  
Silence followed, each one blinking in disbelief--it hadn't really gotten through their heads the first time, considering Cloud's nonchalant tone and attitude about the optimistic martial artist's disappearance. A pair of round, gray eyes reflected a storm amoung the small party; they flashed, as if it was raining and thundering from the wolf-colored clouds within.   
  
"What!? Why!? Was she kidnapped!? Are you sure!? What the HELL are you talking about, Pokey!? I--I can't--" Yuffie's voice lowered in volume slowly; her throat had become constricted by panic. And then it raised again with her growing despair. "Are you sure!?" she repeated screechingly.   
  
//Her chocobo was missing.// Cloud's mind whispered. He opened his mouth to respond with just that, yet no sound came out...for a moment, anyway.  
  
"She was kidnapped."  
  
The lie that escaped his stiff lips surprised him for a moment--only Red XIII and Reeve appeared to notice his minor flinch as he said so, and Red XIII was the one who doubted Cloud's innocence. The wolf-lion's silent curiosity would prove useful later. AVALANCHE--and Shera--shared a stricken gasp, eyes flitting about the room in a state of distress, silently hoping Tifa would barge in or something with her usual warm smile and melodious laughter.   
  
And then Reeve was the second to speak. "I'm going to call the Turks." he said suddenly, rising to the situation. Red XIII seemed unfazed by the President's decision, yet Barret made a sound in his throat--one that spoke volumes of disapproval. And Cloud flinched again, fleetingly wondering if his lie would get out of hand. "I'll have them research any recent kidnappings, and--"  
  
"I'm not concerned about the *kidnappers*, Reeve. I am more worried about Tifa," Cloud stated imploringly, raising a gloved hand to order Reeve to put the cell phone down. "The kidnappers," he said slowly, as if attempting to convince himself as well, "can be dealt with later."  
  
Suddenly, the door fell off its hinges before Cloud's order could finish itself. Behind the fallen device was the heel of a slick black shoe, which dropped to the floor. And the Turks walked in, as cool and as calm as ever, addressing Shera and Cid with curt nods, pretending that explained the house's broken appendage. Shera's brow creased downwards delicately.  
  
"Crashin' the party, AVALANCHE!" Reno jeered merrily, plopping himself down into a lounge chair. "Sorry 'bout the door, Mrs. Highwind--Elena'll pay for the repair costs. This one's on us."  
  
Elena's deep brown eyes widened in indignation, and she looked just about ready to maul Reno.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Cloud said flatly.  
  
"Their jobs, Cloud. I apologize for any inconvenience." Reeve's face appeared sincerely apologetic, and although Cloud could easily forgive the president of Neo ShinRa...he found it rather difficult to be travelling around with the Turks. Reeve turned to the three navy-suited "bodyguards" and, in a hushed whisper, explained to them the situation. Before Reeve had turned his head, though, Reno stepped forth, tucking his gnarled hand in his pockets.  
  
"So," the flame-haired Turk said softly, the faintest hint of a smirk tracing his face, "you lost her already? Why?" 


	2. A Disgruntled Beginning

A/N: Yes, yes. Chapters are longer. Formatting is better. I am just too proud of this. In case anyone's wondering about the absolutely confirmed pairings, they will be clear as crystal...well, maybe later. XD For now...enjoy the show!  
  
Disclaimer: You've heard 'em all before, so no witty pun and no FF7 for you...or me...*sniff* O_o;  
  
---  
  
Chapter 2: A Disgruntled Beginning  
"The looks of your fellow hobos read: 'I think Pokes has lost his marbles.'" Reno  
  
"When I look at your face I see dirt;  
All the sunshine you blow up my ass starts to hurt  
And, I don't really mind if I'm nothing  
In your eyes...  
It's no surprise, to me."  
"Sunshine" Wheatus  
  
---  
  
"Are we leavin' yet?"  
  
Barret's leg quivered in anticipation; the sofa creaked in sadness as it realized it could barely hold the hulking man's weight. He was...well, stricken: Tifa was the first and most willing member of AVALANCHE, and he, as the leader (yet not a decision-maker) kept that fact rather close to his heart. He rubbed the Missing Score vigorously with his palm, a habit he had adapted when he was nervous. His feelings were rather easy to read. Yet what he said--that was the mere silence breaker after Reno had...spoken...to Cloud. No one else, not even the usually hyper and mind-speaking Yuffie Kisaragi dared to speak... //If Tifa wuz here...she'd make 'em foo's shut da HELL up...// Barret rubbed his temple with his human hand, as if rapidly gaining a headache.  
  
"I didn't lose her," the spiky-haired swordsman retorted bitterly, paying no mind to Barret's inquiries. "She was taken from me." Roughly, consistency was etched onto every weary crease of Cloud's face that explained he would say nothing more then kidnapping had "stolen" Tifa. Reno took another step forward, weight shifting onto another foot; he leaned forward, as if taunting Cloud mirthlessly to prove it.  
  
"Was her chocobo missing?" Reno asked dauntingly.  
  
"Yes." Cloud barked quickly, proving that his overwhelming zeal to be left alone pushed him into voicing a truth amongst the web of lies he was ready to tangle. He said nothing for a moment, and then raised the Ultima Weapon, fixating his gaze on the glimmering Materia trapped in the slots. "Come on, I'm ready to go," he said softly, beginning a steady trod out the door. No one asked questions. They feared the answers...well, most of them did...  
  
Reno didn't. "Hold it, Sherlock Holmes... Do we know where we're going? I think there's not enough of us to split up and turn over every fuckin' stone on the Planet."  
  
"I could search the entire Planet if I wanted to." the swordsman replied icily, not bothering to turn around and cheer on the Turk.  
  
"Not too bright, are we. I just have a little problem with running around the continents searching for one dumped chick." Reno contributed, his electrical baton twiddling itself idly betwix his scrawny fingers. His eyes reflected the sea at its calmest, a shade it would appear in the day: ready to burst forth any minute, and laugh at the surf's victims; his aquamarine "orbs" bore into the back of Cloud's head. On another note, forget the *back*--Cloud whirled around on Reno, flinging his arm out to the side.   
  
"So DON'T COME. You'll only get in my *way*."  
  
"Ah-ah-ah, Strife," Reno waggled his right index finger, slick leather clinging to every crease of his palm and stopping short at the knuckles. "Just what I'd expect from the macho of a ragtag terrorist team." He enunciated that statement in a singsong; Barret made a low growl in the back of his throat, which died away as the hulking man regained his focus on the floor. "Yet, I sympathize. So, let's look at our options, Spikes. A: she was kidnapped, which I highly doubt because...who would go to the City of the Ancients, much less *find* the damn place? ...wow, the only second choice is...B: Tifa ditched you."  
  
The swordsman's eyes cut themselves suddenly, narrowing to a dangerous point. He made a vicious lunge for the gleeful Turk.  
  
"Cloud!" Yuffie cried out, being the fastest in the room and thus the first to gain access to Cloud's free arm; her goldenrod sneakers slid forebodingly across the floor. Anguished swears shattered the feeble sound barriers offered by the Highwind home.   
  
"What the FUCK does it take to get you to shut your fucking FACE!?" the blonde bellowed, expression curdled by rage. Obviously not wanting to perform any task not beneficial to him, Reno took two steps backwards, lanky legs creating more distance between the mass of Red XIII and Yuffie attempting to restain Cloud. Shera allowed herself a barely-audible gasp of terror, that this could be happening in what was a peaceful home. Cid placed his hands on her shoulders, haunted eyes glaring coldly at Reno.  
  
"Do you know what you're doing?" the cocky face said in a rather dead-serious tone. "Like hell you do." Reno answered himself.  
  
"Do you have a better plan, Turk!?" The last word was spat out, like an abomination cursing any tongue; Elena felt a twinge of horror and dislike at the disgrace of her name, and Rude merely placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, allowing the bright blonde strands to spill over the back of his palm. "Because if you do, I'd SURE AS FUCKING HELL'D LIKE TO HEAR IT." To be honest, Cloud's indifferent attitude had been chipped at considerably, but Reno had never been one to explode in a giant gooey mess of "I-hate-yous" or threats.  
  
"Like you'd let me follow through with it," Reno rolled his eyes in disbelief, apparently a lot more collected in the situation then the AVALANCHE leader. "That's what I thought." His arms crossed each other; a stuck-out tongue was implied. If Cloud hadn't a person and a "dog" clinging to him for dear life, the red-haired guy across the room most likely would've been able to name his intestines. "Maybe we should allow Tifa to decide whether she wants to come back to *you*."  
  
"...No..."  
  
"What's the matter, Strife? Carrying the weight of two women on your shoulders, even if one's dead?" Reno's cocky grin was reduced to a shadow of its former self, as if he was speaking a reluctant truth, such as announcing the morbid apocalypse.  
  
"..."  
  
"I think I'm right. The looks of your fellow hobos read: 'I think Pokes has lost his marbles.'" Cloud said nothing, not daring to make eye contact with the AVALANCHE members, unwilling to see if Reno's theory was correct. His arms fell limp in Yuffie's lock, and, startled, she dropped them. "Think. If she *did* leave, then what reason did she have? Think hard, as impossible as that may seem for you. Did all the roots of your hair drain out the brain cells?" Reno asked dully. "Hurry up."  
  
"..." //Because I told her I didn't want her...that she didn't have to be there.// "...I see no reason."  
  
Bad answer.  
  
The Turk surveyed his eyes contemptuously, his doubt shining through like the sun in the dark. The tragic emotion lining those four words prompted no sarcasm or cynicism from Reno--yes, the lax Turk knew his boundaries...other peoples' boundaries...and the circumstances under which not to cross them. A stray thought made Cloud begrudgingly admit he may have been a good interrogator at one point in his life.  
  
Suddenly, he responded: "Fine," he said, much to the surprise of Turk or terrorist. "Let's go."  
  
Cloud remained taut and rigid before stalking out the door jerkily, as if the cork bottling his emotions could blow any second. Silence followed, until Yuffie, too, decided to high-tail it out of there, delivering quick warning glances to Reeve that spoke: "maybe that was a mistake". Reeve merely shrugged helplessly and rose to his feet, shaking his head at Reno, and prompting the Turks to follow, as did the remaining three of AVALANCHE.  
  
"Later, Shera," Cid had said quietly, craning his head for another look at his wife before walking out the front door. He wouldn't see her again for a long time--but he didn't know that then. Shera could only nod, clasping her hands behind her back. And as they left, she sighed, eyes bleary with panic and dulled worry. Compared to the fest of shouting that had occured only seconds ago, she was grateful for the silence.  
  
A shaky alliance was formed merely by Reeve's presence on the Highwind, and each summoned fighter climbed the rope ladder, occasionally jutting out their feet as a warning to the person below them.  
  
Something's usually wrong when the company is forced.   
  
---  
  
A swish of silky, ebony hair vanished behind a beeline of thin trees, indicating movement faster then nature would be able to predict. A taunting voice in Vincent Valentine's head claimed he had abandoned his comrades, much to the unwitting protests of Yuffie; yet, as soon as Cid had beckoned him onto the airship with a rumor of orders from the hidden Cloud Strife, the gunner had immediately come upon the conclusion it had something to do with Tifa. And although he had no real way of confirming this, considering he hadn't gone to the "assembly," Vincent Valentine trusted his instincts and left the sanctity of the ShinRa Mansion. (Well, most of them.)  
  
Precariously he stepped into the sun, shielding his bloody eyes. Vincent lowered his hand as dark clouds formed a swirling barrier around the source of light. //Odd,// he thought thickly, suddenly wishing he had brought his chocobo. He pushed that thought aside and continued trekking across the surface of the continent with light steps and a morbid expression. He had a reason for going it alone: the sooner Tifa was found, the sooner Vincent could be left *alone*.  
  
The general layout of his search plan was as follows: if Tifa once resided in the Northern Continent, then the most logical way to leave is to head to Junon. And since that was far too close to Midgar and Kalm...she would head west.  
  
Why hadn't he even once considered the possibility of a kidnapper in the midst?  
  
Because Vincent isn't dumb.  
  
His eyes narrowed. Perhaps he wasn't as adept at relying entirely on his hunches as Nanaki had been on their previous travels, yet as his tarnished claw reached behind almost automatically to flip back his cloak, he had the creeping assumption that something was wrong with...something. Vincent couldn't quite place his finger on it. But still...something was wrong. And he intended to discover it.  
  
A timid longing in the back of his mind treasured company.  
  
He recalled Yuffie's pleading face--the very countenance of innocence. She had clung to his ankles, asking him to tag along on the Highwind rather then be a martyr and go it alone. Vincent had told her that he had no wish to be a hero--merely to be left in the solitude the Gods had cursed him with. She had nodded slowly, and with a disappointed light and a complaint about having to be on a "ship with stinky Cid," trotted off to let Vincent make a leap off the landed airship's side. Suddenly, he wished she hadn't let go of his leg.  
  
Vincent was tired of wishing for so many things.  
  
---  
  
It was cold in Mt. Corel, and Tifa cursed her need not to be found as she huddled up in a stone crevasse. She had (correctly) suspected they would go on a conquest west, towards the other continent, and undoubtedly they would search in towns first. She cursed her attire for the first and last time in her life--Lord Zangan had once permitted it as flexible attire for martial arts. But damnit, it was cold. She frowned, and in the brace of her gloves, she eyed a green orb; with a quick whisper, a wisp of flame appeared, and she guided it to a pile of dry underbrush. It immediately erupted into flame. //Whew...//  
  
Carelessly, she brought her pack closer to her body and pulled out a small handful of Mimett Greens, handing them carelessly in the direction of Celes. She felt a small nip at her palm, indicating that her chocobo had devoured them whole; then she curled up in front of the fire, watching the flames dance--a nice reflection in her wine-colored eyes.  
  
She tightened the Premium Heart set on each hand.  
  
"Who's there?" Into the silence of the mountains, her bitter voice echoed.   
  
"..."  
  
"Well!? I--" Tifa's head spun around viciously, only to find herself staring into the barrel of a gun. 


End file.
